Erich Erikson age periodization. Erikson's age periodization

Erik Erikson is a follower of Freud, who expanded psychoanalytic theory. He was able to go beyond it due to the fact that he began to consider the development of the child in a broader system of social relations.

One of the central concepts of Erikson's theory is personal identity. Personality develops through inclusion in various social communities (nation, social class, professional group, etc.). Identity (social identity) determines the individual’s value system, ideals, life plans, needs, social roles with corresponding forms of behavior.

Identity is formed in adolescence; it is a characteristic of a fairly mature personality. Until this time, the child must go through a series of identifications - identifying himself with his parents; boys or girls (gender identification), etc. This process is determined by the upbringing of the child, since from his very birth the parents, and then the wider social environment, introduce him to their social community, group, and convey to the child the worldview characteristic of it.

Another important point of Erikson's theory is crisis of development. Crises are inherent in all age stages; these are “turning points”, moments of choice between progress and regression. At each age, personal new formations acquired by a child can be positive, associated with the progressive development of personality, and negative, causing negative changes in development and regression.

According to Erikson, throughout life a person experiences 8 psychosocial crises.

First crisis a person is worried about first year of life (infancy). It is related to whether or not the basic physiological needs of the child are satisfied by the person caring for him. And the child develops trust or distrust in the world. If a child treats the world with trust, then he tolerates the disappearance of his mother from his field of vision without much anxiety or anger: he is confident that she will return, that all his needs will be satisfied.

The second crisis occurs at an early age when the child begins to walk and assert his independence. This crisis is associated with the first learning experience, especially with teaching a child to cleanliness. If parents understand the child and help him, the child gains the experience of autonomy. Otherwise, the child develops shame or doubt.

If adults make too harsh demands, often reproach and punish the child, he or she develops constant wariness, constraint, and unsociability. If the child's desire for independence is not

If suppressed by parents, the child subsequently easily cooperates with other people.

The third crisis corresponds to the second childhood(preschool age). At this age, the child’s self-assertion occurs. The plans that he constantly makes, and which he is allowed to implement, contribute to the development of his sense of initiative. If adults punish too often even for minor offenses, then mistakes cause a constant feeling of guilt. Then initiative is inhibited and passivity develops.

The fourth crisis occurs at primary school age. The child learns to work in preparation for future tasks. Depending on the atmosphere prevailing in the school and the adopted methods of education, the child develops a taste for work or, on the contrary, a feeling of inferiority both in terms of the use of means and opportunities, and in terms of his own status among his comrades.

Teenagers are experiencing the fifth crisis in search of identification (assimilation of patterns of behavior of people significant to them). All previous identifications of the child are combined, and new ones are added to them, because a matured child joins new social groups and acquires different ideas about himself.

The adolescent's inability to identify or related difficulties may lead to role confusion. Also in this case, the teenager experiences anxiety, a feeling of isolation and emptiness.

The sixth crisis is characteristic of young adults. It is associated with the search for intimacy with a loved one. The lack of such experience leads to isolation of a person and his isolation on himself.

The seventh crisis is experienced by a person at the age of 40. This period of life is characterized by high productivity and creativity in a variety of areas. And if the evolution of married life goes a different way, then it can freeze in a state of pseudo-intimacy.

The eighth crisis is experienced during aging. The completion of life's journey, the achievement by a person of the integrity of life. If a person cannot bring his past actions into a single whole, he ends his life in fear of death and in despair from the impossibility of starting life again.

Literature: G.A. Kuraev, E.N. Pozharskaya. Age-related psychology. L.Ts. Kagermazova. Age-related psychology.

American psychologist E. Erikson (1902-1994) is known as a representative of the direction ego - psychology.

He identified 8 psychosocial stages of personality development.

1. Infancy : basal trust / basal distrust . The first psychosocial stage - from birth to the end of the first year - corresponds to the oral stage, according to Freud. During this period, the foundations of a healthy personality are laid in the form of a general sense of trust, “confidence,” and “internal certainty.” Erikson believes that the main condition for developing a sense of trust in people is quality of maternal care- the ability of a mother to organize the life of her little child in such a way that he has a sense of consistency, continuity, and recognition of experiences.

An infant with an established sense of basic trust perceives his environment as reliable and predictable; he can bear his mother's absence without undue distress and anxiety about being "separation" from her. A feeling of mistrust, fear, suspicion appears if the mother is unreliable, insolvent, rejects the child; it can intensify when the child ceases to be the center of her life for the mother, when she returns to those activities that she left for a while (resumes an interrupted career or gives birth to another child). The methods of teaching trust or suspicion in different cultures do not coincide, but the principle itself is universal: a person trusts society based on the degree of trust in his mother.

Erikson shows the enormous importance of the mechanism of ritualization already in infancy. The main ritual is mutual recognition, which persists throughout subsequent life and permeates all relationships with other people.

Hope (optimism regarding one’s cultural space) is the first positive quality of the Ego, acquired as a result of the successful resolution of the “trust-distrust” conflict.

2. Early childhood : autonomy/shame and doubt . This period lasts from one to three years and corresponds to anal stage, according to Freud. Biological maturation creates the basis for the emergence of new opportunities for independent action of the child in a number of areas (for example, standing, walking, climbing, washing, dressing, eating). From Erikson’s point of view, the child’s collision with the demands and norms of society occurs not only when the child is potty trained; parents must gradually expand the possibilities of independent action and self-control in children. The child’s identity at this stage can be indicated by the formula: “I myself” and “I am what I can.”

Reasonable permission contributes to the development of child autonomy. In the case of constant excessive guardianship or, on the contrary, when parents expect too much from a child, something that lies beyond his capabilities, he experiences shame, doubt and self-doubt, humiliation, and weakness of will.

Thus, with a successful resolution of the conflict, the Ego includes will, self-control, and with a negative outcome, weakness of will. An important mechanism at this stage is critical ritualization, based on specific examples of good and evil, good and bad, permitted and prohibited, beautiful and ugly.

3. Game age: initiative / guilt . During the preschool period, which Erikson called the “age of play,” from 3 to 6 years old, a conflict unfolds between initiative and guilt. Children begin to become interested in various work activities, try new things, and communicate with peers. At this time, the social world requires the child to be active, solve new problems and acquire new skills; he has additional responsibility for himself, for younger children and pets. This is the age when the main sense of identity becomes “I am what I will be.”

A dramatic (game) component of the ritual develops, with the help of which the child recreates, corrects and learns to anticipate events. Initiative is associated with the qualities of activity, enterprise and the desire to “attack” a task, experiencing the joy of independent movement and action. At this stage, the child easily identifies himself with significant people (not only parents), and readily lends himself to training and education, focusing on a specific goal. At this stage, as a result of the adoption of social prohibitions, the Super-Ego is formed, and a new form of self-restraint arises.

Parents, encouraging the child’s energetic and independent endeavors, recognizing his rights to curiosity and imagination, contribute to the development of initiative, expanding the boundaries of independence, and the development of creative abilities. Close adults who severely limit freedom of choice, overly control and punish children cause them to feel too much guilt. Guilt-ridden children

passive, constrained and in the future little capable of productive work.

4. School age : industriousness/inferiority . The fourth psychosocial period corresponds to the latent period in Freud's theory. Rivalry with the parent of the same sex has already been overcome. At the age of 6 to 12 years, the child leaves the family and begins systematic learning, including familiarization with the technological side of culture. What is universal in Erikson’s concept is precisely the desire and receptivity to learning something that is significant within a given culture (the ability to handle tools, weapons, crafts, literacy and scientific knowledge).

The term “hard work”, “taste for work” reflects the main theme of this period; children at this time are absorbed in the fact that they strive to find out what comes out of what and how it works. The child's ego identity is now expressed as: “I am what I have learned.”

While studying at school, children are introduced to the rules of conscious discipline and active participation. The ritual associated with school routines is perfection of execution. The danger of this period is the emergence of feelings of inferiority, or incompetence, doubts about one’s abilities or status among peers.

5. Youth: ego - identity/role confusion. Adolescence, the fifth stage in Erikson's life cycle diagram, is considered the most important period in human psychosocial development: “Adolescence is the age of final establishment of the dominant positive ego identity. It is then that the future, within the foreseeable limits, becomes part of the conscious plan of life.” Erikson paid great attention to adolescence and adolescence, considering it central in the formation of a person’s psychological and social well-being. No longer a child, but not yet an adult (from 12-13 years old to about 19-20 in American society), the teenager is faced with new social roles and the demands associated with them. Teenagers

evaluate the world and attitudes towards it. They think and can come up with an ideal family, religion, philosophical system, social structure.

There is a spontaneous search for new answers to important questions: “Who am I? ", "Where am I going? ", "Whom I want to become? " The teenager’s task is to put together all the resources available for this purpose.

time to know about themselves (what kind of sons or daughters they are, students, athletes, musicians, etc.) and create a single image of themselves (ego identity), including awareness of both the past and the expected future. The perception of oneself as a young person must be confirmed by the experience of interpersonal communication.

Ritualization becomes improvisational. In addition, it highlights the ideological aspect. According to Erikson, ideology is an unconscious set of values and premises that reflects the religious, scientific and political thinking of a particular culture. Ideology provides young people with simplified but clear answers to major questions related to identity conflict. Erikson considers drastic social, political and technological changes, dissatisfaction with generally accepted social values as a factor that can also seriously interfere with the development of identity, contributing to feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and severance of ties with the world. Adolescents experience a piercing sense of their uselessness, mental discord and aimlessness, sometimes rushing towards a “negative” identity and delinquent (deviant) behavior. In the case of a negative resolution of the crisis, “role confusion” occurs, a vagueness of the individual’s identity. An identity crisis, or role confusion, leads to an inability to choose a career or continue education, sometimes to doubts about one's own gender identity.

The reason for this may also be excessive identification with popular heroes (movie stars, super athletes, rock musicians) or representatives of the counterculture (revolutionary leaders, “skinheads”, delinquent individuals), tearing out the “blooming identity” from its social environment, thereby suppressing and limiting it .

A positive quality associated with a successful recovery from the crisis of adolescence is fidelity, i.e. the ability to make your choice, find your path in life and remain faithful to your obligations, accept social principles and adhere to them.

6. Youth : achieving intimacy/isolation . The sixth psychosocial stage continues from late adolescence

to early adulthood (20 to 25 years), marks the formal beginning of adulthood. In general, this is the period of obtaining a profession (“establishment”), courtship, early marriage, and the beginning of an independent family life.

Erikson uses the term intimacy (achieving closeness) as multifaceted, but the main thing is maintaining reciprocity in relationships, merging with the identity of another person without fear of losing oneself. It is this aspect of intimacy that Erikson views as a necessary condition for a lasting marriage.

The main danger at this psychosocial stage is excessive self-absorption or avoidance of interpersonal relationships. The inability to establish calm and trusting personal relationships leads to feelings of loneliness, social vacuum and isolation.

The positive quality that is associated with a normal way out of the intimacy/isolation crisis is love. Erickson emphasizes the importance of the romantic, erotic, and sexual components, but views true love and intimacy more broadly - as the ability to entrust oneself to another person and remain faithful to this relationship, even if they require concessions or self-denial, the willingness to share all difficulties with him. This type of love is manifested in a relationship of mutual care, respect and responsibility for the other person.

7. Maturity: productivity / inertia . The seventh stage occurs in the middle years of life (from 26 to 64 years); her The main problem is the choice between productivity and inertia. Productivity appears as the concern of the older generation about those who will replace them - about how to help them gain a foothold in life and choose the right direction. A good example in this case is a person’s sense of self-realization associated with the achievements of his descendants.

If in adults the ability for productive activity is so pronounced that it prevails over inertia, then the positive quality of this stage manifests itself - care.

Those adults who fail to become productive gradually move into a state of self-absorption, where the main concern is their own personal needs and comforts. These people do not care about anyone or anything, they only indulge their desires. With the loss of productivity, the functioning of the individual as an active member of society ceases, life turns into satisfying one’s own needs, and interpersonal relationships become impoverished. This phenomenon - the “senior age crisis” - is expressed in a feeling of hopelessness, meaninglessness

life.

8. Old age: ego integrity/despair . The last psychosocial stage (from 65 years to death) ends a person's life. In almost all cultures, this period marks the beginning of old age, when a person is overcome by numerous needs: having to adapt to the fact that physical strength and health are deteriorating, getting used to a more modest financial situation and a solitary lifestyle, adapting to the death of a spouse and close friends, as well as to establish relationships with people of your own age. At this time, the focus of a person’s attention shifts from worries about the future to past experiences, people look back and reconsider their life decisions, remember their achievements and failures. Erickson was interested in this internal struggle, this internal process of rethinking his own life.

According to Erikson, this last phase of life is characterized not so much by a new psychosocial crisis as by the summation, integration and evaluation of all past stages of ego development: “Only for those who in some way cared about affairs and people, who experienced triumphs and defeats in life, who inspired others and put forward ideas - only he can gradually ripen the fruits of the seven previous stages. I don't know a better term for this than ego integration (integrity)."

The sense of ego integration is based on a person's ability to look back at his entire past life (including marriage, children and grandchildren, career, achievements, social relationships) and humbly but firmly say to himself, “I am content.” The inevitability of death is no longer frightening, since such people see the continuation of themselves either in descendants or in creative achievements. Erikson believes that only in old age does true maturity and useful feeling come“wisdom of past years.” But at the same time, he notes: “The wisdom of old age is aware of the relativity of all knowledge acquired by a person throughout his life in one historical period. Wisdom is “awareness of the unconditional meaning of life itself in the face of death itself”

At the opposite pole are people who view their lives as a series of unrealized opportunities and mistakes. Now, at the end of their lives, they realize that it is too late to start over or look for some new ways to feel the integrity of their Self. Lack or lack of integration manifests itself in these people in a hidden fear of death, a feeling of constant failure and concern about what “might happen.” Erikson identifies two predominant types of mood in irritable and indignant older people: regret that life cannot be lived again, and denial of one's own shortcomings and defects by projecting them onto the outside world.

Bibliography:

1. Shapovalenko I.V. Developmental psychology (Developmental and developmental psychology). - M.: Gardariki, 2005.

Erikson's age periodization is a theory of psychosocial personality development created by Erik Erikson, in which he describes 8 stages of personality development and focuses on the development of the “I-individual”.

Erikson proposes periodization in the form of a table. What table is this?

Period designation;
Designation of the social group that puts forward development tasks and in which a person improves (or you can also see a variant of the formulation “radius of significant relationships”);
The task of development or that psychosocial crisis in which a person faces a choice;
As a result of passing through this crisis, he acquires either strong personality traits or, accordingly, weak ones.

Note that as a psychotherapist, Erickson can never be judgmental. He never talks about human qualities in the format of good and bad.

Personal qualities cannot be good or bad. But he calls strong qualities those that help a person solve development problems. He will call weak those who interfere. If a person has acquired weak personality traits, it is more difficult for him to make the next choice. But he never says that this is impossible. It's just more difficult;

Traits acquired through conflict resolution are called virtues.

The names of the virtues in order of their gradual acquisition are: hope, will, purpose, confidence, loyalty, love, caring and wisdom.

Although Erikson tied his theory to chronological age, each stage depends not only on age-related changes in a person, but also on social factors: studying at school and college, having children, retirement, etc.

Infancy

From birth to one year is the first stage in which the foundations of a healthy personality are laid in the form of a general sense of trust.

The main condition for developing a sense of trust in people is the mother’s ability to organize the life of her small child in such a way that he has a sense of consistency, continuity and recognition of experiences.

An infant with an established sense of basic trust perceives his environment as reliable and predictable. He can bear his mother's absence without undue distress and anxiety about being "separation" from her. The main ritual is mutual recognition, which persists throughout subsequent life and permeates all relationships with other people.

The methods of teaching trust or suspicion in different cultures do not coincide, but the principle itself is universal: a person trusts the world around him, based on the degree of trust in his mother. A feeling of mistrust, fear and suspicion appears if the mother is unreliable, incompetent, or rejects the child.

Mistrust can intensify if the child ceases to be the center of her life for the mother, when she returns to previously abandoned activities (resumes an interrupted career or gives birth to another child).

Hope, as optimism regarding one’s cultural space, is the first positive quality of the ego acquired as a result of the successful resolution of the trust/distrust conflict.

Early childhood

The second stage lasts from one to three years and corresponds to the anal phase in the theory of Sigmund Freud. Biological maturation creates the basis for the emergence of independent actions of the child in a number of areas (move, wash, dress, eat). From Erikson’s point of view, the child’s collision with the demands and norms of society occurs not only when the child is potty trained; parents must gradually expand the possibilities of independent action and self-control in children.

Reasonable permission contributes to the development of child autonomy.

In the case of constant excessive care or inflated expectations, he experiences shame, doubt and self-doubt, humiliation, and weakness of will.

An important mechanism at this stage is critical ritualization, based on specific examples of good and evil, good and bad, permitted and prohibited, beautiful and ugly. The child’s identity at this stage can be indicated by the formula: “I myself” and “I am what I can.”

With a successful resolution of the conflict, the Ego includes will, self-control, and with a negative outcome, weakness of will.

Playing age, preschool age

The third period is the “age of play,” from 3 to 6 years. Children begin to become interested in various work activities, try new things, and communicate with peers. At this time, the social world requires the child to be active, solve new problems and acquire new skills; he has additional responsibility for himself, for younger children and pets. This is the age when the main sense of identity becomes “I am what I will be.”

A dramatic (game) component of the ritual develops, with the help of which the child recreates, corrects and learns to anticipate events.

Initiative is associated with the qualities of activity, enterprise and the desire to “attack” a task, experiencing the joy of independent movement and action. The child easily identifies himself with significant people, readily lends himself to training and education, focusing on a specific goal.

At this stage, as a result of the acceptance of social norms and prohibitions, the Super-Ego is formed, and a new form of self-restraint arises.

Close adults who severely limit freedom of choice, overly control and punish children, cause them to feel too much guilt.

Children overcome by feelings of guilt are passive, constrained and have little capacity for productive work in the future.

School age

The fourth period corresponds to the ages of 6 to 12 years and is chronologically similar to the latent period in Freud's theory. Rivalry with a parent of the same sex has already been overcome, the child leaves the family and becomes familiar with the technological side of culture.

At this time, the child gets used to systematic learning, learns to win recognition by doing useful and necessary things.

The term “industriousness”, “taste for work” reflects the main theme of this period; children at this time are absorbed in the fact that they strive to find out what comes out of what and how it works. The child's ego identity is now expressed as: "I am what I have learned." While studying at school, children are introduced to the rules of conscious discipline and active participation. School helps the child develop a sense of hard work and achievement, thereby reaffirming a sense of personal strength. The ritual associated with school routines is perfection of execution.

Having built in the early stages feelings of trust and hope, autonomy and "will power", initiative and determination, the child must now learn everything that can prepare him for adult life.

The most important skills he must acquire are the aspects of socialization: cooperation, interdependence and a healthy sense of competition.

If a child is encouraged to tinker, do handicrafts, cook, is allowed to finish what he has started, and is praised for his results, then he develops a sense of competence, “skill,” confidence that he can master a new task, and his abilities for technical creativity develop.

If parents or teachers see the child’s work as mere pampering and an obstacle to “serious studies,” then there is a danger of developing in him a feeling of inferiority and incompetence, doubts about his abilities or status among his peers. At this stage, the child may develop an inferiority complex if adults' expectations are too high or too low.

The question answered at this stage is: Am I capable?

Youth

The fifth stage in Erikson's life cycle diagram, from 12 to 20 years, is considered the most important period in human psychosocial development:

“Youth is the age of final establishment of a dominant positive identity.

It is then that the future, within the foreseeable limits, becomes part of the conscious plan of life." This is the second important attempt to develop autonomy, and it requires challenging parental and social norms.

The teenager is faced with new social roles and associated requirements. Teenagers evaluate the world and their attitude towards it. They think about the ideal family, religion, and the social order of the world.

There is a spontaneous search for new answers to important questions: Who is he and who will he become? Is he a child or an adult? How do his ethnicity, race, and religion affect how people view him? What will be his true authenticity, his true identity as an adult?

Such questions often make the teenager painfully concerned about what others think of him and what he should think about himself. Ritualization becomes improvisational, and the ideological aspect is highlighted in it. Ideology provides young people with simplified but clear answers to major questions related to identity conflict.

The teenager’s task is to put together all the knowledge he has by this time about himself (what kind of sons or daughters they are, students, athletes, musicians, etc.) and create a single image of himself (ego identity), including awareness of how the past and the expected future.

The transition from childhood to adulthood causes both physiological and psychological changes.

Psychological changes manifest themselves as an internal struggle between the desire for independence, on the one hand, and the desire to remain dependent on those people who care about you, the desire to be free from the responsibility of being an adult, on the other. Faced with such confusion about his status, a teenager always seeks confidence, security, trying to be like other teenagers in his age group. He develops stereotypical behavior and ideals. Peer groups are very important for rebuilding self-identity. The destruction of strictness in dress and behavior is inherent in this period.

The positive quality associated with successfully overcoming the crisis of adolescence is self-fidelity, the ability to make your own choice, find a path in life and remain faithful to your obligations, accept social principles and adhere to them.

Erikson considers drastic social changes and dissatisfaction with generally accepted values as a factor that interferes with the development of identity, contributing to a feeling of uncertainty and inability to choose a career or continue education. A negative way out of the crisis is expressed in poor self-identity, a feeling of uselessness, mental discord and aimlessness; sometimes teenagers rush towards delinquent behavior. Excessive identification with stereotypical heroes or representatives of the counterculture suppresses and limits the development of identity.

Youth

The sixth psychosocial stage lasts from 20 to 25 years and marks the formal beginning of adulthood. In general, this is the period of acquiring a profession, courtship, early marriage, and the beginning of an independent family life.

Intimacy (achieving closeness) - as maintaining reciprocity in a relationship, merging with the identity of another person without fear of losing oneself.

The ability to be involved in a loving relationship includes all of the previous developmental tasks:

a person who does not trust others will find it difficult to trust himself;
in case of doubt and uncertainty, it will be difficult to allow others to cross your boundaries;
a person who feels inadequate will have difficulty getting close to others and taking initiative;
a lack of hard work will lead to inertia in relationships, and a lack of understanding of one’s place in society will lead to mental discord.

The capacity for intimacy is perfected when a person is able to build intimate partnerships, even if they require significant sacrifices and compromises.

The ability to trust and love another, to derive satisfaction from mature sexual experiences, to seek compromises in common goals - all this indicates satisfactory development during the youth stage.

The positive quality that is associated with a normal way out of the intimacy/isolation crisis is love. Erickson emphasizes the importance of the romantic, erotic, and sexual components, but views true love and intimacy more broadly - as the ability to entrust oneself to another person and remain faithful to this relationship, even if it requires concessions or self-denial, the willingness to share all difficulties together. This type of love is manifested in a relationship of mutual care, respect and responsibility for the other person.

The danger of this stage is avoidance of situations and contacts that lead to intimacy.

Avoiding the experience of intimacy for fear of “losing independence” leads to self-isolation. The inability to establish calm and trusting personal relationships leads to feelings of loneliness, social vacuum and isolation.

The question that is answered is: Can I have intimate relationships?

Maturity

The seventh stage occurs in the middle years of life from 26 to 64 years, its main problem is the choice between productivity (generativity) and inertia (stagnation). An important point of this stage is creative self-realization.

"Mature adulthood" brings a more consistent, less unstable sense of self.

The Self manifests itself by giving more in human relationships: at home, at work and in society. There is already a profession, the children have become teenagers. The sense of responsibility for oneself, others and the world becomes deeper.

In general, this stage involves a productive work life and a nurturing parenting style. The ability to be interested in universal human values, the destinies of other people, to think about future generations and the future structure of the world and society develops.

Productivity acts as the concern of the older generation about those who will replace them - about how to help them gain a foothold in life and choose the right direction.

If in adults the ability for productive activity is so pronounced that it prevails over inertia, then the positive quality of this stage manifests itself - care.

Difficulties in “productivity” may include: an obsessive desire for pseudo-intimacy, over-identification with the child, the desire to protest as a way to solve stagnation, reluctance to let go of one’s own children, impoverishment of one’s personal life, self-absorption.

Those adults who fail to become productive gradually move into a state of self-absorption, when the main subject of concern is their own personal needs and comforts. These people do not care about anyone or anything, they only indulge their desires. With the loss of productivity, the functioning of the individual as an active member of society ceases, life turns into satisfying one’s own needs, and interpersonal relationships become impoverished.

This phenomenon, like a midlife crisis, is expressed in a feeling of hopelessness and meaninglessness of life.

Questions answered: What does my life mean to this day? What am I going to do with the rest of my life?

Old age

The eighth stage, old age, starting after 60-65 years, is a conflict of integrity and hopelessness. Healthy self-development culminates in wholeness. This implies accepting yourself and your role in life at the deepest level and understanding your own personal dignity and wisdom. The main work in life is over, the time has come for reflection and fun with the grandchildren.

A person who lacks integrity often wants to live his life again.

He may view his life as too short to fully achieve certain goals and therefore may experience hopelessness and dissatisfaction, despair that life has not worked out, and it is too late to start all over again, there is a feeling of hopelessness and fear of death.

Literature and sources

https://www.psysovet.ru

The first stage is infancy.(0 - 1-1.5 years) - the task of forming basic trust in the world around us is solved (“Can I trust the world?”). Signs of trust in a baby are manifested in light feeding, deep sleep, and normal bowel function. E. Erikson assigned the decisive role in the formation of a child’s basic trust in the world to the mother; He considered an important criterion for a baby’s trust in the world to be the child’s ability to calmly tolerate the disappearance of the mother from sight. From the antithesis of development at the first stage - fundamental faith and hope versus fundamental hopelessness - with the support, consistency of behavior of close relatives, and with the satisfaction of the baby’s basic needs, the birth of the first basic quality occurs - hope. If a child does not receive proper care and does not receive loving care, deprivation of the child’s needs occurs and, as a result, distrust in the world.

Second stage - early age(1.5-4 years). At this stage, the child solves the problem of forming and defending his autonomy and independence (“Can I control my behavior?”). A negative version of development - a consequence of either overprotection or a lack of support and trust, when adults show impatience and rush to do for the child what he himself is capable of - leads to the development of self-doubt in children, doubt in their actions, and shyness. The struggle of a sense of independence against shame and doubt leads to the establishment of a relationship between the ability to cooperate with other people and insist on one's own, between freedom of expression and its restriction. At the end of the stage, a moving balance develops between these opposites: it will be positive if parents and close adults show reasonable permissiveness, support the child’s desire for autonomy, and do not rush him. From the opposition of autonomy and shame (doubt), a new quality is born - will.

The third stage is childhood(4 - 6 years). At this stage, the alternative between initiative and guilt is decided (“Can I become independent from my parents and explore the boundaries of my capabilities?”). When adults encourage a child's research activity aimed at the world around him, his imagination and inquisitiveness, he learns to deal with people and things in a constructive way and gains a sense of initiative. If adults limit a child’s possible actions, severely criticize or punish him, then he gets used to feeling guilty for many of his actions. E. Erikson calls purposefulness the integral quality of this stage.

Stage four - school age(6-11 years old). The main question of this stage is: “Can I become skilled enough to survive and adapt to the world?” At this stage, the formation of hard work and the ability to handle tools occurs; the opposite tendency is awareness of one's own ineptitude and uselessness. At school age, learning skills for children turn into a special independent world, with its own goals and limitations, achievements and disappointments. Systematic training and upbringing, encouragement by adults of schoolchildren’s educational and work creativity, their inclinations for handicrafts, design, etc., develop their entrepreneurship, perseverance, and initiative. If, while studying at school, a child does not enjoy work, does not feel proud that he will do at least one thing with his own hands really well, if his diligence is not encouraged, then this can lead to the formation of a feeling of inferiority. The main positive acquisition of this stage is skill and competence.

Fifth stage - adolescence(11-20 years) - sets the individual the task of the first holistic awareness of himself and his place in the world; the negative pole in solving this problem is uncertainty in understanding one’s own self (“diffusion of identity”, “confused identity”). The teenager is faced with the task of combining at a new level everything that he knew and knows about himself, about his social roles, into something whole and projecting this idea into the future (“Who am I?” “What are my beliefs, views and positions?”) . In a teenage identity crisis, all past critical moments of development arise anew: the teenager must now solve all the old problems consciously and with the inner conviction that this is the choice that is significant for him and for society. Then social trust in the world, independence, initiative, and mastered skills will create a new integrity of personality, fully expressed in fidelity.

Sixth stage - youth(21-25 years old) - marks the transition to solving actual adult problems on the basis of a formed identity. The main ones are the search for a life partner, the desire for close cooperation with others, the desire for close friendly ties with members of one’s social group (“Can I completely give myself to another person?”). A young man who is confident in his identity shows psychological intimacy, warmth, understanding, and trust when communicating with another person; he discovers it in friendship, in erotic relationships, or in joint activities. A young man, unsure of his identity, avoids interpersonal intimacy, his relationships with others become highly stereotypical, and he himself comes to a deep sense of isolation. Loneliness becomes his lot - the state of a person who has no one to share his life with and no one to care for. The main acquisition of this stage is love.

Seventh stage - maturity(25 - 50-60 years). This stage of a person’s life is associated with resolving the contradiction between the ability to develop and personal stagnation, slow regression in the process of everyday life (“What can I offer to future generations?”). At this stage, a new parameter of personality development appears, the poles of which are a person’s ability to be interested in the destinies of other people, to think about the lives of future generations, and self-absorption, self-focus, concern for one’s health, and concern for one’s own comfort. Personal development continues thanks to the influence of their children - they confirm the subjective feeling of being needed by others. Productivity and procreation as the main positive characteristics of the individual at this stage of development are realized in caring for the upbringing of the new generation, in productive work activity and in creativity. Caring is the main quality that is developed at this stage. If excessive concentration on oneself appears, then this leads to inertia, stagnation and personal devastation.

The eighth stage of the life path is old age.(over 60 years) - characterized by the achievement of a new form of identity. A person must answer the question: “Am I satisfied with the life I’ve lived?” Here a person either finds peace and balance as a result of a sense of meaningfulness in life and the integrity of his personality, or he is doomed to a feeling of hopelessness, perceiving his life as a series of missed opportunities and annoying mistakes. The absence or loss of personal integration leads to complete hopelessness: fate is not accepted as the end of life, and death as its final boundary. At this stage of development, wisdom emerges with many shades of meaning - from maturity of mind to concentration of knowledge - carefully considered judgments and deep, comprehensive understanding.

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Age periods of human development, which are important to know as teachers developing the personality of children of different ages, as well as for everyone, regardless of age

Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist
and a psychoanalyst. Known primarily for his stage theory
psychosocial development, and also as the author of the term identity crisis.

Erikson's epigenetic theory of personality development is one of the most authoritative, proven theories of personality development. Personality development is interesting not only for psychologists. Personality development is also important for teachers who develop the personality of children of different ages, personality development is important for businessmen interested in developing the personality of their employees, personality development is important and simple for people who want to develop their personality.

Erikson's book Childhood and Society (Erikson, 1963) presents his model of the "eight ages of man." According to Erikson, all people in their development go through eight crises, or conflicts. The psychosocial adaptation achieved by a person at each stage of development can change its character at a later age, sometimes radically.

For example, children who were deprived of love and warmth in infancy can become normal adults if they are given extra attention in later stages.

However, the nature of psychosocial adaptation to conflict plays an important role in the development of a particular person. The resolution of these conflicts is cumulative, and the way a person copes with life at each stage of development influences how he copes with the next conflict.

So, here are the eight age periods of human development according to Erikson:

0-1 year

At this tender and fragile age, the most important quality is formed - the ability to trust people and hope for the best. If the baby did not receive enough love and attention, a distrustful, withdrawn personality may subsequently develop.

1-3 years

At the age of three, children often become capricious and tend to insist on their own. And it is not surprising: at this time the most important quality of a person is formed - will. Under favorable conditions, the little person emerges from this crisis independent and self-confident.

3-5 years

From three to five years old, children are mainly busy playing with their peers, learning basic social laws. At this time, the child’s initiative, activity, determination, and readiness to communicate are formed. If the parents were overly “caring” and did not allow the child to actively explore the world, protecting him from all sorts of “dangers,” a very “lazy” person may emerge from this crisis.

5-11 years

The beginning of productive learning is the very first work of a child. At this time, a person begins to understand the value of life’s achievements, the need to make efforts in order to get what he wants, including the respect of others.

11-20 years

At this time, an idea of one’s own uniqueness is formed. A person searches for himself, asks himself important questions, and decides on his life direction. It is at this age that the foundations of a worldview are laid, the picture of the world becomes conscious and bright.

20-40 years

This is a period when ideas about life are revised, the value and significance of the people around them is realized. And it is precisely this crisis that a person must go through on his own - they can no longer help or hinder him.

40-60 years

60 years

In the last stages of life, people usually reconsider the life they have lived and evaluate it in a new way. If a person, looking back at his life, feels satisfaction because it was filled with meaning and active participation in events, then he comes to the conclusion that he did not live in vain and fully realized what fate had given him. Then he accepts his life entirely, as it is. But if life seems to him a waste of energy and a series of missed opportunities, he begins to feel despair. It is obvious that one or another resolution of this last conflict in a person’s life depends on the cumulative experience accumulated in the course of resolving all previous conflicts.

The stages of development identified by Erikson extend to the internal drives of the individual and to the attitudes of parents and other members of society towards these forces. In addition, Erikson views these stages as periods of life during which a person's life experiences dictate the need for the most important adaptations to the social environment and changes in his own personality. Although the way a person resolves these conflicts is influenced by the attitudes of his parents, the social environment also has an extremely large influence.